On Writing, by Stephen King, 3.5 rounded up. Completed

[NancyJ]

Read a lot, write a lot. This advice came through from several of the author memoirs I read this month. King admitted several times in this book that he didn't enjoy writing this book much as he enjoys writing fiction, and it sometimes showed.* But there were some wonderful stories in the book, and he did eventually give budding writers some good advice. I listened to the audio, and at the very end is a recording of an interview with he and his son. It was very funny, and it showed what a strong relationship they had.

His personal stories were the most interesting to me. He talked a lot about his wife and his family, his car accident, and most surprising to me, his substance abuse. I haven't read a lot about him, and I don't know if this was well known or not. He said that he eventually came to realize that the main character in The Shining was based on himself when he was using. This story was quite compelling.

*He doesn't keep a journal, so he struggled to pull up memories of his early years. In contrast, it became apparent to me that Ann Patchett and Barbara Kingsolver have strong journal habits. I found it really rewarding this month to read the memoirs of some of the authors we've been reading. Comparing their advice to writers was interesting, more in the differences than in the similarities. He doesn't think college writing programs are essential, partly because other students are not able to give quality feedback. But a writing workshop changed his life. I liked this story, and his advice about finding trusted readers. (Both were about his wife.)